Smart engineering solutions
From a very early development stage, a huge amount of computerised crash simulations were conducted to develop a bodyshell which offers the optimum balance between low weight and crash protection. This enabled the engineers to take the right direction in the development process since the start of the project.
To achieve this all-important balance between weight and resistance, some 45% of the Prius body is constructed from High-Strength Steel. In addition, in a world auto industry first, Ultra High-Strength Steel in key areas such as the B-pillar is combined with a hot-stamping manufacturing process, making this material 2.5 times stronger than conventional High-Strength Steel.
To confirm the data from the crash test simulations, a programme of 125 real crash tests took place for Prius - substantially more than usually conducted in the development of a new model.
Addressing real-life safety issues
'Real world' safety issues such as child safety and collisions between two vehicles of differing weights and sizes were addressed during the development of the new Prius.
Impacts between different size and weight vehicles constitute the most common type of accident in Europe, so Prius was crashed against the far larger Toyota Land Cruiser as part of the testing regime, both vehicles driving at 50 km/h. As a result, Prius occupants enjoy the highest possible levels of protection in real-life frontal, side and rear impacts.
